Axial self-balancing water pump

Abstract

The present invention proposes an axial self-balancing water pump, which relates to the field of fluid equipment technology and includes: a casing, a pump shaft, a prime mover, an impeller, an inner ring component, an outer ring component, and a sliding bearing. The impeller can rotate to drive the fluid to flow along the axial direction of the pump shaft from the first side of the impeller to the second side with increased pressure. A first gap channel for the passage of fluid is formed between the inner ring component and the outer ring component. The sliding bearing is arranged on the side of the inner ring component away from the impeller, and includes: a bearing shell fixed on the casing, and a bearing inner ring mounted on the pump shaft and adapted to the bearing shell; a second gap channel for the passage of fluid is formed between the bearing shell and the bearing inner ring; a balancing chamber is formed between the first gap channel and the second gap channel, and the balancing chamber is connected to the first gap channel. In the present application, the pump shaft is in dynamic axial balance, and the prime mover does not need to bear the axial load, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of the axial load on the prime mover and improving its service life.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of fluid equipment, and in particular to an axial self-balancing water pump. Background Art

[0002] A pump is a machine that transports or pressurizes fluids. In existing technology, an impeller is mounted on the pump shaft and driven by an electric motor. The axial force of traditional pumps is borne by the motor bearings, which can cause the motor to heat up, reduce unit efficiency, increase equipment energy consumption, and easily damage the motor bearings. This can also cause premature aging of the motor coil insulation. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced as the pump's operating pressure increases. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to propose an axial self-balancing water pump in view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art.

[0004] The axial self-balancing water pump comprises:

[0005] a shell, on which a water inlet and a water outlet are provided;

[0006] a pump shaft passing through the housing;

[0007] a prime mover having a drive shaft, the drive shaft being in dynamic connection with the pump shaft to drive the pump shaft to rotate;

[0008] An impeller mounted on the pump shaft; the impeller is capable of rotating to drive the fluid to flow axially along the pump shaft from a first side of the impeller to a second side with increased pressure;

[0009] An inner ring component located at the second side of the impeller and mounted on the pump shaft to rotate synchronously with the pump shaft;

[0010] An outer ring member fixedly mounted on the housing, wherein a first gap channel for fluid to pass through is formed between the inner ring member and the outer ring member;

[0011] A sliding bearing is provided on the side of the inner ring member away from the impeller, comprising: a bearing shell fixed to the housing, and a bearing inner ring mounted on the pump shaft and adapted to the bearing shell; a second gap channel for fluid to pass through is formed between the bearing shell and the bearing inner ring; a balancing chamber is formed between the first gap channel and the second gap channel, and the balancing chamber is communicated with the first gap channel;

[0012] During operation, when the bearing shell abuts against the inner ring component to form a contact seal to separate the balance chamber and the second gap channel, the pressurized high-pressure fluid can be injected into the balance chamber from the first gap channel to prompt the pump shaft to move along the first axial direction to cause the bearing shell to break contact with the inner ring component; when the bearing shell breaks contact with the inner ring component, the balance chamber is connected to the second gap channel to cause the fluid in the balance chamber to leak, thereby reducing the fluid pressure in the balance chamber, and the pump shaft moves along the second axial direction, and the bearing shell and the inner ring component reach a contact and sealing state again.

[0013] In some embodiments, the inner ring component includes: an inner ring portion mounted on the pump shaft, an outer ring portion adapted to form a first gap channel with the outer ring component, and a connecting portion connecting the inner ring portion and the outer ring portion; the bearing shell abuts against the connecting portion.

[0014] In some embodiments, the second gap channel is in communication with the water inlet of the housing.

[0015] In some embodiments, along the axial direction of the pump shaft, the axial position of the first gap channel and the axial position of the second gap channel at least partially overlap.

[0016] In some embodiments, a plurality of annular expansion cavities are arranged at intervals along the extension direction of the first gap channel; the annular expansion cavities are formed by expanding the interval distance between the inner ring component and the outer ring component.

[0017] In some embodiments, the outer ring member is provided with a plurality of groove structures for forming the annular expansion cavity.

[0018] In some embodiments, the axial self-balancing water pump is a vertical pump; the prime mover is arranged at the top of the casing, the sliding bearing is arranged at the lower end of the pump shaft; and the impeller is used to pressurize the fluid downward along the pump shaft.

[0019] In some embodiments, the impeller is a multi-stage centrifugal pump impeller.

[0020] In some embodiments, the prime mover is an electric motor.

[0021] In some embodiments, the output shaft of the motor is connected to the pump shaft by a coupling.

[0022] In this application, under the action of fluid pressure, the bearing and the inner ring component dynamically switch between a contact sealing state and a disengaged state, so that the pump shaft is in dynamic axial balance, and the prime mover does not need to bear the axial load, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of the axial load on the prime mover and improving its service life. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of the axial self-balancing water pump in an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the partial structure of the axial self-balancing water pump in the embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 3 This is another partial structural diagram of the axial self-balancing water pump in the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following are specific embodiments of the present application and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the technical scheme of the present application is further described, but the application is not limited to these embodiments. In the following description, specific details such as specific configurations and components are provided only to help fully understand the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. In addition, for clarity and brevity, the description of known functions and structures has been omitted.

[0027] It should be noted that, unless there is any conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be combined with each other.

[0028] refer to Figures 1 to 3 The present application provides an axial self-balancing water pump, comprising a housing 10, a pump shaft 20, a prime mover 30, an impeller 40, an inner ring member 50, an outer ring member 60, and a sliding bearing 70. The prime mover 30 is an electric motor or an internal combustion engine. In some embodiments, the impeller 40 is a multi-stage centrifugal pump impeller.

[0029] The housing 10 is provided with a water inlet 11 and a water outlet 12. The pump shaft 20 is inserted into the housing 10. The prime mover 30 has a drive shaft 31, and the drive shaft 31 is dynamically connected to the pump shaft 20 to drive the pump shaft 20 to rotate. The impeller 40 is mounted on the pump shaft 20; the impeller 40 is capable of rotating to drive the fluid to flow along the axial direction of the pump shaft 20 from the first side of the impeller 40 to the second side with increased pressure. The inner ring member 50 is located on the second side of the impeller 40 and is mounted on the pump shaft 20 to rotate synchronously with the pump shaft 20. The outer ring member 60 is fixedly mounted on the housing 10, and a first gap channel 61 for fluid to pass through is formed between the inner ring member 50 and the outer ring member 60. The sliding bearing 70 is arranged on the side of the inner ring component 50 away from the impeller 40, and includes: a bearing shell 71 fixed on the housing 10, and a bearing inner ring 72 mounted on the pump shaft 20 and adapted to the bearing shell 71; a second gap channel 73 for fluid to pass through is formed between the bearing shell 71 and the bearing inner ring 72; a balance chamber 51 is formed between the first gap channel 61 and the second gap channel 73, and the balance chamber 51 is connected to the first gap channel 61.

[0030] refer to Figure 1The axial self-balancing water pump is a vertical multi-stage centrifugal pump. Arranged along the pump shaft 20 from top to bottom are: a motor, a multi-stage impeller 40, an inner ring component 50, an outer ring component 60, and a sliding bearing 70. A nut is installed at the bottom of the sliding bearing 70. When the prime mover 30 drives the pump shaft 20 to rotate, the impeller 40 rotates along with the pump shaft 20. When rotating, the impeller 40 can rotate and drive the fluid to flow along the axial direction of the pump shaft 20 from the first side of the impeller 40 to the second side of the impeller 40 with increased pressure, wherein the first side is the upper side of the impeller 40 and the second side is the lower side of the impeller 40. The fluid at the upper side of the impeller 40 is not pressurized by the impeller 40 and is a low-pressure fluid. The fluid at the lower side of the impeller 40 is pressurized by the impeller 40 and is a high-pressure fluid.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present application, the axial self-balancing water pump is a vertical pump; the prime mover 30 is disposed on the top of the housing 10, and the sliding bearing 70 is disposed at the lower end of the pump shaft 20; the impeller 40 is used to pressurize the fluid downward along the pump shaft 20. The first side of the impeller 40 is the upper side of the impeller 40, and the second side is the lower side of the impeller 40.

[0032] In the embodiment of the present application, power can be transmitted between the output shaft of the motor and the pump shaft 20, and the pump shaft 20 can move in a small axial range. In some embodiments, the output shaft of the motor and the pump shaft 20 are connected by a coupling.

[0033] During operation, when the bearing bush 71 abuts against the inner ring member 50 to form a contact seal, isolating the balancing chamber 51 from the second gap channel 73, pressurized high-pressure fluid can be injected into the balancing chamber 51 from the first gap channel 61, causing the pump shaft 20 to move in the first axial direction, causing the bearing bush 71 to break contact with the inner ring member 50. When the bearing bush 71 breaks contact with the inner ring member 50, the balancing chamber 51 communicates with the second gap channel 73, causing the fluid in the balancing chamber 51 to leak, thereby reducing the fluid pressure in the balancing chamber 51. The pump shaft 20 moves in the second axial direction, and the bearing bush 71 and the inner ring member 50 once again achieve a contact seal.

[0034] When the bearing bush 71 abuts the inner ring member 50, forming a contact seal and isolating the balancing chamber 51 from the second gap channel 73, the pressurized high-pressure fluid is injected into the balancing chamber 51 through the first gap channel 61. At this point, the entire pump shaft rotor is subjected to a combined upward force, forcing the entire rotor to move upward, causing the bearing bush 71 to break contact with the inner ring member 50. After the bearing bush 71 breaks contact with the inner ring member 50, the balancing chamber 51 communicates with the second gap channel 73, allowing fluid to leak from the balancing chamber 51 and reducing the fluid pressure within the balancing chamber 51. This reduces the upward force acting on the inner ring member 50 and the entire rotor from the balancing chamber 51. At this point, the combined force acting on the pump shaft rotor is directed downward, forcing the bearing bush 71 back into contact with the inner ring member 50 and forming a contact seal. This allows the entire pump rotor to dynamically float in axial position, effectively eliminating axial loads on the motor. Furthermore, this process persists as the pump shaft 20 speed changes, ensuring that the motor remains virtually unaffected by axial loads at all speeds.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present application, the bearing shell 71 is made of a polymer material, and the bearing inner ring 72 is made of a ceramic material. The bearing inner ring 72 is mounted on the pump shaft 20 and rotates relative to the bearing shell 71. Here, the bearing shell 71 is made of a polymer material, which enables a good contact seal to be formed between the bearing shell 71 and the inner ring member 50. The fit between the bearing inner ring 72 made of ceramic material and the bearing shell 71 made of polymer material has a long service life. Here, the sliding bearing serves as a radial support for the pump shaft and a structure for forming an axial balance adjustment.

[0036] The high-pressure fluid within the balancing chamber 51 exerts an upward force on the inner ring member 50 and the entire rotor. As the pressure in the balancing chamber 51 changes, the resulting force acting on the entire rotor changes. In some embodiments, the inner ring member 50 includes an inner ring portion 52 mounted on the pump shaft 20, an outer ring portion 53 adapted to form a first clearance channel 61 with the outer ring member 60, and a connecting portion 54 connecting the inner ring portion 52 and the outer ring portion 53. The bearing shell 71 abuts against the connecting portion 54.

[0037] refer to Figure 1 When the bearing 71 loses contact with the inner ring member 50, one end of the second gap channel 73 is connected to the balancing chamber 51 and the other end is connected to the low-pressure chamber 13, so that the high-pressure fluid in the balancing chamber 51 leaks rapidly and the fluid pressure is reduced. The second gap channel 73 is connected to the water inlet 11 of the housing 10. Specifically, a balancing hole 14 is provided on the housing 10 to connect the low-pressure chamber 13 and the water inlet 11. When the pressure is released, the fluid in the balancing chamber 51 first enters the low-pressure chamber 13 through the second gap channel 73, and then enters the water inlet end of the pump through the balancing hole 14.

[0038] In some embodiments, the width of the first gap channel 61 , that is, the gap between the inner ring member 50 and the outer ring member 60 , ranges from 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm.

[0039] Furthermore, along the axial direction of the pump shaft 20, the axial position of the first gap channel 61 and the axial position of the second gap channel 73 at least partially overlap. Thus, the first gap channel 61, the balancing chamber 51, and the second gap channel 73 form a serpentine channel, thereby reducing the flow velocity of the fluid and the leakage of the high-pressure fluid.

[0040] In some embodiments, a plurality of annular expansion cavities 611 are arranged at intervals along the extension direction of the first gap channel 61; the annular expansion cavities 611 are formed by expanding the distance between the inner ring member 50 and the outer ring member 60. When the high-pressure fluid enters the annular expansion cavity 611, it diffuses and flows into the annular expansion cavity 611. When the high-pressure fluid flows out of the annular expansion cavity 611, it needs to re-contract and flow. The high-pressure fluid needs to continuously diffuse and contract when passing through the annular expansion cavity 611, thereby slowing down the flow rate of the high-pressure fluid and reducing leakage. The number of annular expansion cavities 611 can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10.

[0041] Specifically, the outer ring member 60 is provided with a plurality of groove structures for forming the annular expansion cavity 611. The annular expansion cavity 611 is formed by the groove structures processed on the inner surface of the outer ring member 60.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, under the action of fluid pressure, the bearing and the inner ring component dynamically switch between a contact sealing state and a disengaged state, so that the pump shaft is in dynamic axial balance, and the prime mover does not need to bear the axial load, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of the axial load on the prime mover and improving its service life.

[0043] In the above embodiments of the present application, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant description of other embodiments.

[0044] It should be noted that the terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to the present application. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In addition, it should be understood that when the terms "comprise" and / or "include" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, tasks, devices, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0045] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper" and "lower" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on this application.

[0046] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of the technical features being referred to. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. Throughout the description of this application, "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0047] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the spirit of the present application. Persons skilled in the art may make various modifications, additions, or substitutions to the described specific embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present application or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An axial self-balancing water pump, characterized in that: include: A housing (10) provided with a water inlet (11) and a water outlet (12); a pump shaft (20) passing through the housing (10); A prime mover (30) having a drive shaft (31), wherein the drive shaft (31) is connected to the pump shaft (20) to drive the pump shaft (20) to rotate; the prime mover (30) is an electric motor; An impeller (40) is mounted on the pump shaft (20); the impeller (40) is capable of rotating to drive fluid to flow axially from a first side of the impeller (40) to a second side thereof to increase pressure; the impeller (40) is a multi-stage centrifugal pump impeller; an inner ring component (50) located at a second side of the impeller (40) and mounted on the pump shaft (20) to rotate synchronously with the pump shaft (20); an outer ring member (60) fixedly mounted on the housing (10), wherein a first gap channel (61) for fluid to pass through is formed between the inner ring member (50) and the outer ring member (60); The sliding bearing (70) is arranged on the side of the inner ring component (50) away from the impeller (40), and comprises: a bearing bush (71) fixed on the housing (10), and a bearing inner ring (72) mounted on the pump shaft (20) and adapted to the bearing bush (71); a second gap channel (73) for fluid to pass through is formed between the bearing bush (71) and the bearing inner ring (72); a balance cavity (51) is formed between the first gap channel (61) and the second gap channel (73), and the balance cavity (51) is communicated with the first gap channel (61); when the bearing bush (71) abuts against the inner ring component (50), the balance cavity (51) is connected to the first gap channel (61); When a contact seal is formed to isolate the balance chamber (51) and the second gap channel (73), the pressurized high-pressure fluid can be injected into the balance chamber (51) from the first gap channel (61), prompting the pump shaft (20) to move in the first axial direction so that the bearing (71) and the inner ring component (50) are out of contact; when the bearing (71) and the inner ring component (50) are out of contact, the balance chamber (51) and the second gap channel (73) are connected to cause the fluid in the balance chamber (51) to leak, thereby reducing the fluid pressure in the balance chamber (51), and the pump shaft (20) moves in the second axial direction, and the bearing (71) and the inner ring component (50) reach a contact seal state again.

2. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner ring component (50) comprises: an inner ring portion (52) mounted on the pump shaft (20), an outer ring portion (53) adapted to form a first gap channel (61) with the outer ring component (60), and a connecting portion (54) connecting the inner ring portion (52) and the outer ring portion (53); the bearing shell (71) abuts against the connecting portion (54).

3. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second gap channel (73) is in communication with the water inlet (11) of the housing (10).

4. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: Along the axial direction of the pump shaft (20), the axial position of the first gap channel (61) and the axial position of the second gap channel (73) at least partially overlap.

5. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of annular expansion cavities (611) are arranged at intervals along the extension direction of the first gap channel (61); the annular expansion cavities (611) are formed by enlarging the interval between the inner ring component (50) and the outer ring component (60).

6. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 5, characterized in that: The outer ring component (60) is provided with a plurality of groove structures for forming the annular expansion cavity (611).

7. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: The axial self-balancing water pump is a vertical pump; the prime mover (30) is arranged on the top of the housing (10), and the sliding bearing (70) is arranged at the lower end of the pump shaft (20); the impeller (40) is used to pressurize the fluid downward along the pump shaft (20).

8. The axial self-balancing water pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: The output shaft of the motor is connected to the pump shaft (20) by a coupling.

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